Premier Inn and Holiday Inn owners lead FTSE100 higher in early trade

UK-listed hoteliers Whitbread (WTB:LON) and Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG:LON) are trading up 2.2% and 3.7% respectively as profits rise. Whitbread, the owner of the Costa Coffee and Premier Inn brands has confirmed it’s on track to achieve growth targets after announcing a 5.4% rise in half-year pre-tax profit. Profits are up from £241.8 million (2014 comparable period) to £254.9 million in the six months to August, Chairman Richard Baker said “Whitbread has produced another good set of results, demonstrating the strength of the Premier Inn and Costa brands,” continuing on to say “We are on track to deliver our growth milestones and will continue to invest in our people, our customer propositions and our systems to deliver profitable growth for our shareholders,” In recent bank / broker views Canaccord Genuity reiterated their buy stance with a £60 price target, Soc Gen Reiterated their bullish stance with £53.43 price target and Nomura retains their Buy rating on the stock which trades at £48.28.

InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG:LON) the owner of the Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn Hotels & Resorts brands also reported strong growth, third quarter comparable revenue per available room – a key metric for hoteliers – grew 4.8% on the year. “We…continued to sign hotels into our pipeline at the fastest rate since 2008,” Chief Executive Richard Solomons said. “Looking ahead to the remainder of this year, we are encouraged by current trading trends and remain confident in the outlook.” IHG leads the FTSE higher up 3.7% at £23.95 in early trade.